Antonioni and producer Mario Gabrielli were forced to deal with censorship and political interference in the script stage, during filming, and on the film festival circuit. By including the original, uncut version of the Italian episode from the film on this Blu-ray release, RaroVideo allows us to see for ourselves what was done to deem The Vanquished appropriate for public consumption by the Office of the Prime Minister’s Film Censorship in Rome.
Set in three European cities, France, Italy, and England, and using the language specific to that city, The Vanquished tells the story of what the voiceover refers to as the “burned out generation,” those that are only concerned about living for their own egotistical gratifications. In the French story, a group of kids are looking to escape the city and go to Algiers. One of the kids, Pierrehas been bragging about money that he doesn’t actually have. As a result, to scoundrel brothers have been using a pretty girl (Etchika Choureau) to lure him into their circle so they can kill him and take his cash. In Italy, a young man (Franco Interlenghi) gets involved with cigarette smugglers and accidently murders a police officer when things go awry. In England, a poet (Peter Reynolds) sees an opportunity for publicity when he discovers the body of a prostitute while out in the woods. He gets his moment in the spotlight, but it’s not long before police discover he’s not telling the whole story.
As one might expect, Antonioni uses the camera very well to capture surroundings. The problem lies in the fact that the age old message that youth are the enemy of the young is a tired one, and frankly, none of these stories is very interesting. All of these characters are living lives of relative good fortune, and for no good reason, commit murder. Yes, we’re supposed to believe it’s because their disaffected, but that’s not enough; there’s not even a hint of contemplation as to why the post-war generation would genuinely turn into murderous thugs.
Almost without fail, the performances are over-the-top, with no nuance to speak of. And while Antonioni captures the surroundings well, this was only his third film, and he hadn’t yet developed the stylistic flair that would become his trademark. It’s likely that censorship issues contributed to some of the films problems, particularly in regard to the Italian section, where the dialog clearly doesn’t match the onscreen action, but over all, this is just a frustrating movie from one of the all-time filmmaking greats. With all that said, because The Vanquished is an Antonioni film, it becomes a must-have for some movie aficionados.
Presented in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Raro Video’s 1080p transfer is a bit of a disappointment, as DNR is in abundance. Artifacts are prevalent throughout the image (small scratches, specks, etc.) and all natural film grain has been wiped away. Fine detail is minimal at best, and blacks are far from inky.
The PCM Dual Mono audio (in Italian, French, and English) provides distinguishable audio throughout, though it’s nothing particularly special. Sound effects fair the same; not great, but it does the job.
English subtitles, which are easy to read, are included.
The following extras have been transferred over from the previous Raro DVD release of the film.
- Interview with actor Franco Interlenghi (10:23) The actor shares a few memories of the film, but largely recounts his romances with several female stars.
- Interview with producer Turi Vasile (13:53) Vasile discusses the films themes, and it’s censorship issues.
- Tentato Suicido (Attempted Suicide) short from L’amore In Citta (22:47) an interesting look at supposed attempted suicide survivors.
- Uncut version of the ‘Italian’ episode (30:07) The original Italian segment, which is dramatically different than the one in the final cut. The story is about a fascist youth who blows up a building. It’s much more impressive than the segment in the feature
- 8-page booklet on the film: Check out Stefana Parigi’s comprehensive essay on the production of the film.
